Peace ahead of Liverpool's big night

Fans of Liverpool and AC Milan basked peacefully in the sun before tonight's Champions League final, many nursing hangovers after a night of drinking and singing in Istanbul.

Supporters of the two sides mingled in the historic district of Sultanahmet, sightseeing and engaging in light-hearted banter about who would win the evening's match at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium.

"The atmosphere here is great. There is a real feeling of community among us and we're getting on well with the Liverpool fans," said Italian journalist Stefan Cerati, sitting with friends in a cafe overlooking the famous Blue Mosque.

Liverpool fans dominated the city's main Taksim Square, where they draped banners over restaurant fronts, clutching beer cans and singing terrace songs amid a party atmosphere.

"I've been waiting 20 years for this. When we beat Chelsea in the semi-finals it was the best day of my life but that will be eclipsed if we win against Milan," said Brendan Cahill, 29, a warehouse manager from Dublin.

Good atmosphere

Locals looked on at the raucous Liverpudlians with a mixture of fascination and apprehension, remembering the violence five years ago when two Leeds United fans were stabbed to death in the same street where the supporters gathered.

"We Turks are hospitable people and it makes us happy when they have a good time. But we have traditional values and I hope they don't drink too much because then they do things which offend us," said 31-year-old waiter Savas Altay.

As he spoke, a Liverpool supporter stripped naked on the roof of one restaurant before disappearing into the crowd to the cheers of hundreds of onlookers. Another fan climbed a tree and swayed precariously back and forward.

Some 10,000 police will be on duty for Wednesday's match and police have tightened security controls at the city's airports with officers on the lookout for any troublemakers.

Liverpool's last appearance in the European Cup final in 1985 was a tragedy, as 39 mostly Juventus fans were killed when rioting fans of the English club caused a wall to collapse at the Heysel Stadium.

However, apart from a few isolated scuffles there were no signs of serious trouble in Istanbul.

In a sign of the relaxed mood, Liverpool supporters took photographs of themselves together with Turks dressed in the colours of newly crowned Turkish champions Fenerbahce.

"It's a nice friendly atmosphere and the police are holding back which is good. I hope it stays like that," said 45-year-old Dave Provost from Birkenhead.